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China can imitate Soviet fighters, why can't it imitate the American "Black Hawk"?
Why doesn't our reverse research work on American-style weapons?
What is so special about American-style weapons?
Soviet "Big Brother"
In 1953, China bought a MiG-17F gift package from the Soviet Union, and a complete set of design drawings was sent to China together with experts.
The Soviet Union also participated in the construction of Factory 122 out of its own pocket, which was the predecessor of the famous "Shen Fei" in the future.
Why did the USSR export the MiG-17 and drawings to China?
Nowadays, we can talk about the plane that made two round-trips at the founding ceremony as an anecdote.
But for the newly established New China, the number of fighters has always been a rather embarrassing problem.
Everyone knows that we need to produce more fighters.
But China at that time was blank in this field and did not have the ability to produce jet fighters.
The MiG-17, the first generation of Soviet jet fighters, became the best choice for assistance.
As long as there are reference materials, scientific researchers on the mainland will be able to create miracles.
Just one year later, in 1954, China completed tests of the MiG-17 engine VK-1, renaming it the Turbojet-5.
The engine problem was solved, and the next thing in front of the Chinese was a large number of technical difficulties.
The J-5 finally succeeded in meeting the public in 1956, and China finally had the initial ability to defend the country's airspace.
歼-5
China's early military industry was more or less bearing the shadow of the Soviet Union.
The famous "Sixth Master" was inspired by the Soviet Tu-16 bomber, and the successful mass production of the J-6 was also inseparable from the help of the MiG-19.
Even the second-generation J-7 and J-8 fighters have more or less some MiG-21 shadows.
In the 90s of the 20th century, with the normalization of Sino-Soviet relations, the resumption of military-industrial exchanges between the two countries became the top priority in China's eyes.
On December 24, 1990, China imported 26 Su-27s from the Soviet Union. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, China got the entire production line of the Su-27 from Russia.
Su-27
The mainland first imported parts from Russia, completed the assembly of the J-11A, and completed the localization of all parts in ten years, and the completely localized J-11B officially met with everyone.
In the end, the mainland independently developed the complete body of the Su-27 and Su-40, and the strongest fourth-and-a-half-generation fighter J-16 came into being.
In addition, the first generation of the main battle tank "Type 59" of the Continental Army was also completed under the inspiration of the Soviet T54A.
The Air Force and Army have been upgraded, and the Navy is naturally not to be outdone.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the mainland purchased the Soviet aircraft carrier "The Last Glory" Varyag from Ukraine, although the Varyag was already a rusty empty shell in the hands of China, but the concept and technology in the design draft still benefited us a lot.
Varyag
After all, the Varyag is already a product of the "old era", and in order to adapt it to modern warfare, the mainland needs to put in no less effort than the pet spirit started.
On September 25, 2012, the mainland's first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, was officially delivered, and China officially completed its transformation from zero to one.
So we have also worked with the United States, so why is it more difficult to imitate American-style weapons?
A decade of "honeymoon" between China and the United States
In the 80s of the 20th century, China and the United States started the so-called "honeymoon period".
In just one year after 1979, China and the United States reached 27 agreements on the transfer of equipment and technology.
The two sides have abandoned each other's prejudices, and China and the United States, although not allies, remain friendly countries, which means that the door to the export of 400 non-lethal weapons technologies will be open to the mainland.
In 1983, the mainland's export ranking was raised again, and it was treated at the same level as the Western European allies.
During that time, Sino-US relations reached an all-time high.
China has always been a nation that has been adept at seizing opportunities, and during the honeymoon period between the two countries, China has frantically caught up with the world's leading military power.
Our technical personnel know very well that if we can use missiles, artillery, air defense, and other sensitive technologies as much as possible, the mainland's military pattern will usher in a new situation.
In 1985, China and the United States signed a cooperation agreement on the joint transformation of the J-7 and J-8, and in 1986, the Sino-US "Peace Model" project was officially implemented.
In the first stage, the two countries jointly made significant improvements to the J-7's fuselage structure, aerodynamic layout, and flight control system, and the improved J-7M has been greatly improved in terms of maneuverability, fire control and survivability.
In the second stage, the two countries focused on the J-8, and the birth of the J-8II means that the technological process of the mainland fighter has taken a big step forward.
At the same time, the United States has also provided China with advanced equipment such as radar, radar warning system, and electronic countermeasure system for F-5E and F-16 fighters.
The "Pearl River for Peace" project can be called a representative of Sino-US military cooperation.
At that time, the mainland's main helicopter, the Z-5, was already quite backward in technology, but the mainland has not been able to find fresh blood that can replace the Z-5.
At that time, China imported the S-70C from the United States, and the Panthers, Gazelles, Dolphins, Super Wasps and so on from France.
Although the S-70C is a civilian helicopter, it goes to the PLA troops from time to time to do odd jobs.
In 2008, the "Black Eagle" has been traveling back and forth between the Wenchuan disaster area and the material camp, pulling up the material support line of the affected people.
France's SA321 Super Wasp laid the foundation for China's independent development of the Z-8.
In 1989, the first production Z-8 was officially delivered, and in the following years, the Z-8 family gradually grew, shining in the fields of airborne search, transportation, and plateau defense.
Harbin Aircraft Company directly packaged and imported the French Dolphin helicopter and its production license, and the Z-9 took a family to the historical stage with the efforts of Harbin Aircraft Company.
Unfortunately, the honeymoon period between China and the United States was indeed shorter.
According to the previous plan of China and the United States, the two countries will also carry out deeper cooperation in the fields of tanks, missiles, infantry fighting vehicles, etc., but as the relationship between China and the United States has cooled, many projects have come to naught.
Among them is the famous "Jaguar" tank program.
Cadillac Gage Marsh plans to use the Type 59 tank chassis to create a new mobile fortress with the 8V-92TA 8-cylinder diesel engine of the American Detroit Diesel Engine Company and the L7 series tank gun from the British Royal Arsenal.
Objectively speaking, the performance of this "stitching monster" was not first-class among the main battle tanks at that time, but the "Jaguar" project was stopped, which also strengthened China's determination to engage in independent research and development, after all, only itself is the most reliable.
The Waterloo of the road of imitation
During the Sino-US honeymoon, China bought a lot of "good equipment" from the United States, and the "Black Hawk" helicopter served China for more than 30 years.
Back then, China's purchase of the "Black Eagle" was mainly based on the issue of the supply of soldiers in the plateau area.
Therefore, at that time, the various aircraft manufacturers that bid for the bidding directly carried out a unique test flight activity, and they were pulled to Lhasa Gonggar Airport to show their skills on the plateau.
In the end, the "Black Hawk" helicopter refreshed the Chinese's concept of helicopters, which can carry cargo weighing up to 1 ton and cruise freely at an altitude of 7,315 meters, which can be called a veritable "king of the plateau".
Why is the "Black Eagle" favored by the Chinese people?
At a time when the annual military expenditure is only $10 billion, China is willing to spend $150 million to purchase 24 "Black Hawk" helicopters, and if Sino-US relations do not cool down, China may continue to place orders and become a "repeat customer."
It is worth mentioning that the "Black Hawk" model exported from the United States to China is the S70C2, which is the so-called "civilian model".
However, China is not wronged, in order to pursue better high-altitude flight capabilities, China asked the United States to change the engine to the GE-T700-701 turboshaft engine, the power of the modified engine is 10% higher than that of the US military's own model.
In the 90s of the 20th century, seeing that there was no way to buy back, China also thought about copying this road, and every part of the Black Hawk S70C2 was reverse-mapped in detail, but unfortunately China just couldn't complete the replication work.
Why was China able to copy Soviet technology, but it was left with a feather in front of American goods?
This is directly related to the elaborate technology protection measures in the United States.
As a major arms exporter, the core spirit of the United States in the selection of export commodities is "I bet you can't imitate it", and all the processes are extremely confidential and accurate.
In addition, the core mechanism of the aircraft, the engine, is more precise than ordinary people can imagine, and any change in material and tolerance may miss the slightest difference.
So why can the mainland copy the fighter jets of the former Soviet Union?
Different from the model of direct delivery of aircraft by the United States, the former Soviet Union gave us not only dozens of fighter jets, but also a full set of research and development drawings and entire production lines, and even experts were packaged and "shipped".
The Soviet Union helped modernize China, and the United States showed us the power of technology.
But most importantly, both powers have taught us that independence is the most important thing.
The mountains will fall, the water will flow, and the strength of oneself is the real strength.
Fortunately, today's China has accelerated its technological pace to catch up with the pace of the big army, and even faintly has a tendency to overtake.
This is thanks to generations of researchers who have worked miracles under extremely difficult conditions.
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Bibliography:
- "Xinhuanet: The secret of military cooperation between China and the United States in the 80s: super 7 changes to "Thunder Dragon" fighter
- "Reference News: Diplomats Reminisce about Opening Up: Looking Back on the Competition and Cooperation in the "Honeymoon Period" between China and the United States
- "Xinhuanet: Weapon Observation: Z-20 Incarnates a Helicopter Gunship, and the Troop Transporter Fights the Tank"